Cup-packing gasket for oil-well-cementing plugs



Jan. 26 1926.

Z. A. DYER ET AL CUP PACKING GASKET FOR o1L WELL CEMENTING PLUGS FiledMay 17, '1924 amulHI-IIIIIIIIN Patented Jan. 26, 1926.

UNITED STATES ZEB ALLEN DYER AND-HORACE H.

DUBENDORF, 0F LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AS-

SIGNORS T0 FREDERICK W. HUBER, OF RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. I

CUP-PACING GASKET FOR OIL-WELL-CEMENTING PLUGS. 4

Appncation med may 17, 1924. serial' No. 714,12g.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it lknown that we, ZEB. ALLEN DYEIR and 'HORACE H. DUBENDORF,citizens of the United States, residing at Long Beach, California, 4haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cup-Packing GasketsforOil-Well-Cementing Plugs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the art ofdrilling wells such as oil wells andthe like and especially to the cementing of such wells. Moreparticularly the invention relates to a cup packing for oil well packersor plugs. In the cementing of oil wells certain methods are used attimes which require the employment of upper and lower packers toproperly cause the very fluid cement or grout to flow up in the spacebetween the tube used in the well as a casing and the wall of the wellbore.l Such a vmethod may be typified vby the utilization of apparatus4as shown and described in the 'patent issued to Perkins and Doublebearing the number 1,011,484 and it will be noted from this patent thatit is especially necessary to have the upper packer so constructedthat-no leakage of the water pumped in can take place downwardly pastthe packer. Heretofore it has been customary to employ acup packingadjacent the upper end of the packer with a view to prevent such leakagebut the cup packings em loyed have been found to be defective in unctionowing tol the material from which they have been made beinginsufliciently plastic and elastic in'its nature and also owing to thecup not being shaped to cause it to adjust itself to the' inequalitiesin the tube caused by corrugations, joints, rivets and so forth.

The principle and most important objects of the present invention are toovercome the defects of the cup packings previously used for thispurpose by the provision of an improved cup v packing made froma highlelastic material capable of -itting readily under fluid pressure fromab0ve into depressions and being also capable of fitting closely aroundprojections, the cup furthermorebeing of novel form.

W'ith the above and other objects in View, as will be hereinafterapparent, the invention consists in general of a cup packing of improvedform constructed of highly elastic and V.plastic material, it beingunderstood that the term plastic is used in the sense of materialconforming readily to inequalities underpressure but not necessar1lyretaining the impression of such inequalities when the Y pressure 1sremoved. 4

The accompanying drawings illustrate the form in which the packing 1smade and in thesedrawings like characters of reference indiicate likeparts in the several views, an l Figure l is a view partly in elevationand partly in section showing a packer equipped with the improved cuppacklng being lntro-A duced into. the upper end of an oil well casing ortube.

Figure 2 is a section through a corrugated tube showing the manner inwhich the packing springs into a corrugation and the position of theplied.

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2 but showing the effects ofpressure on the packpacking before pressure is aping underthe conditionsillustrated in thatv i figure. I

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the manner in whichthe packing tends toconform to the recess at an ordinary screwed joint.

Figure 5 is a vertical section showing the manner in which thepackingconforms to a rivet head projecting 1nwardly from the casingWall.

Figure 6 is a section onthe line 6 6 ofy Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a cross section showing the manner in which the packingconforms to a riveted pipe distorted in shape. j

By reference to the accompanying Vdrawingsit'will be seen that thispacking is designed tok be carried at the upper end of a packer or plug10 and to be secured thereon by a follower plate 11. The packing itselfconsists of a flat circular .body 12 having a centrally disposed openingfor the y screw of. the follower plate 11. Around this body thereprojects upward a peripheral flange the lower part 13' of which isperpendicular to the body and is of uniform thickness throughout.Abovethis uniformly thick portion the packing flares outwardly in areversely curved portion which decreases in thickness from' its junctionwith the portion 13 upwardly and carries on its upper edge a beading 15so that a constrictedV portion or neck 16.1ies just below the beading.

This packing is formed of material which is of highly elastic nature sothat it always returns to its shape after being deformed by pressureagainst the inequalities of the tube. Furthermore, the character of thematerial is such that it conforms, in use, closely to all suchinequalities and thereby maintains a tight joint between the packer andthe tube which prevents all leakage. Preferable material for the purposeis found to be a pure rubber, this being a, relatively cheap and readilyavailable material having the required properties in the necessarydegrecs.

An inspection of the various examples illustrated will clearly show themanner in which a cup packing constructed in this manner and of thismaterial conforms to inequalities of various types and furtherdescription of the action of the packing under the different conditionsshown is not deemed necessary.V

There has thus been provided for the purpose above mentioned, a noveland ellicient cup packing which fully accomplishes the objects setforth.

It is to be understoodthat the packing is molded to form and that. minorchanges may be made in that form without departing from the principleson which the invention is based. It is not, therefore, desired torestrict the invention to the precise form shown and described, but itis desired to include all such as properly come within theI scopeclaimed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is A cuppacking consisting of a flat cireulail body portion having an upstandingperipheral iiange, the lower portion of said flange being arrangedapproximately perpendicularly to the body, the portion of the flangeabove the body portion flaring outwardly in a reverse curve andgradually decreasing in thickness from the lower portion upwardly, saidflange terminating in a beading at its upper edge, the beading being ofgreater' thickness than the'mate-rial just below the beading.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

ZEB ALLEN DYER. HORACE H. DUBENDORF.

